


everything stays

by monstermash



Series: it's a long fall [1]
Category: Fallen Hero Series - Malin Rydén, Fallen Hero: Rebirth (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Brainwashing, M/M, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-20 01:06:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19367140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monstermash/pseuds/monstermash
Summary: “I can’t believe it,” Ortega breathes, a mix of hope and confusion welling up in his throat, threatening to drown him. “Jay?”“Who the hell is Jay?”





	everything stays

**Author's Note:**

> i've only played the free chapters so far (i don't have any spare money atm to buy the full thing) but i just really wanted Ortega and Sidestep to have a "who the hell is bucky?" moment so here we are with this AU where Sidestep never got away from the Farm after the Heartbreak incident

He’s just as blindsided as the rest of the Rangers when it happens.

The unmistakable sound of a minigun spinning up and screeching tires are the only warning they get that things are about to go pear-shaped.

“Move!” Steel bellows as he drags the first time villain they’d just arrested behind cover.

And they scatter, focusing on subduing the incoming swarm of armed unknown enemies; there aren’t any identifiers on them to so much as even hint at where their loyalty lies.

There’s only one among their number that stands out, black leather like the rest of them save for the bright orange lines and a mask that covers their face, but something about them is _so familiar_ even if Ortega can’t place it.

Not only is the strange familiarity throwing him off, it also seems like… it’s almost as if the other Rangers don’t notice them, which makes no sense, because this person is stalking right towards them, ignoring the hail of gunfire. It’s only when he notices Herald look right at the person, only for his gaze to slide away like there’s nothing there that Ortega realizes what this person is.

“They’ve got a telepath,” Ortega warns the others, loud enough for all of them to hear. But that means the telepath hears him too, because their attention suddenly locks onto him, the slightest change of the way they hold themselves showing that they’re pretty pissed off he tipped the others off.

After that, Ortega has to focus on fighting the telepath, trusting that the rest of the team will take care of the others. They’re so evenly matched that it feels more like a game than an actual fight, which seems to just frustrate the telepath, enough for Ortega to land a hard enough hit to crack the mask.

The telepath staggers back a step, the broken bits of mask falling away enough for Ortega to catch a glimpse of their eyes, a gray so pale they might as well be colorless, and…

No.

It feels like someone’s pulled the rug right out from under him because it can’t possibly be— He _died,_ Ortega saw him _fall—_

The now useless helmet comes off, short, wild dark brown curls framing the face that he still thinks about every day, looking a lot paler than usual…

\---

Whenever the aftermath of Heartbreak comes up, rare as it is, Ortega is always the first to admit that he had been an absolute wreck.

He cried at the funeral – which he never has nor will he ever be ashamed of showing emotion – and he punched a reporter – which he still feels bad about, at least a little. Grief clouded his judgement for a long time, in the months that followed.

He’d lost two friends that day. Anathema and—

Well, even now, years later, it’s still painful to say – to even _think_ – Sidestep’s actual name.

So he doesn’t.

Instead, he likes to focus on the good memories; the first time Ortega saw him without his mask, whenever he’d softly call him _‘Ricardo’_ instead of _‘Ortega,’_ all of the Not Dates that absolutely were dates, the moments when he’d been allowed to see past the hardened shell and witness a heart softer than his. 

It’s better than remembering that the sound of his heart breaking sounded an awful lot like a window shattering.

\---

“I can’t believe it,” Ortega breathes, a mix of hope and confusion welling up in his throat, threatening to drown him. “Jay?”

Steel says something, but it’s distant and not nearly as important as the fact that Jay somehow isn’t dead.

Jay’s expression remains blank save for the way his brow twitches, furrowing ever so slightly.

“Who the hell is Jay?”

“You are!”

He watches Ortega with a painful sort of wariness that leaves his stomach and heart in knots.

Ortega just wants to wrap him up in his arms and never lose sight of him again, but when he takes a step forward Jay pulls a knife on him and it’s back to fighting. Although, now that he knows who the telepath is – _it’s Jay, Jay’s alive_ – Ortega can’t bring himself to do much more than fight defensively which frustrates Jay even more than their stalemate fighting did.

“Jay, come on, it’s me,” he tries. “Ricardo Ortega – you _know_ me.”

“I don’t know you.”

“You do,” Ortega insists, a desperation he hasn’t felt in years creeping its way into his chest. “I’m Ricardo, and you’re Jay Becker, you’re my—”

He doesn’t know how to finish that sentence, because they never got the chance to really define what they were.

“You’re my partner. My best friend,” he finally decides on as he blocks another hit, because no matter what had been developing between them, that much is still true. Always _will_ be true. “You have a scar on your right leg, just below your knee; you got it when we were fighting Pyschopathor. You distracted him and got caught under some rubble.”

Jay hesitates, fist raised and gray eyes staring right into Ortega’s soul.

“You scared the shit out of me, but you called me an idiot and I knew you were okay,” Ortega continues, unsure he’d even be able to stop himself now, even if he wanted to.

Ortega catches Jay’s fist easily, though there’s barely any force behind it with Jay looking more and more confused. Slowly, he carefully twists their hands, pushing his fingers in the spaces between Jay’s.

A smile grows on his face when Jay doesn’t pull away. 

“You look like a ridiculous biker,” he jokes weakly. “Where have you been all this time? What happened?”

“I—”

Whatever Jay had been about to say is interrupted by the sound of impending sirens, causing Jay to flinch back, away from Ortega who tries to follow after him.

“Wait—”

But then Jay drops down, sweeping Ortega’s feet out from under him and Ortega is staring up at the blue Los Diablos sky. By the time he gets back onto his feet, Jay is gone.

The villain they’d arrested is gone too, and Ortega just wants to know what the hell is going on.

**Author's Note:**

> i might add onto this, but i'll leave it as is for now.


End file.
